Weirdest Cold Treatments from Around the World

Uncommon Remedies for the Common Cold and Flu

Uncommon Remedies for the Common Cold and Flu

Colds and the flu tend to show
up with dreary regularity. Here is a look at some remedies that people around
the world have used to combat the congestion, body aches, fever, and sore
throat of a bad cold or flu.

Click
through to learn which ones might actually help, and which are more charming
folktale than curative.

Gogol Mogol

Gogol Mogol

Originating in Russia and the
Ukraine, this hot drink is the result of whisking together an egg yolk and a
teaspoon of honey or sugar. Pour the concoction into a
half-cup of milk that’s been heated with a tablespoon of unsalted butter. Add a slug of rum
or cognac for an adult version.

No studies measure the efficacy of gogol mogol.
However, the silky consistency of the egg may ease sore throat scratchiness. And
the L-tryptophan in hot milk can help promote sleep when
it’s
paired with a carbohydrate like cereal.

Is Something Burning?

Is Something Burning?

People burn Ai Ye (Artemisia argyiwormwood) in some households in
China. Burning the dried leaves of this plant is said to have an antiseptic
effect. It’s believed to prevent cold or flu germs from spreading and to help
defend against further infection.

Ai
Ye leaves have antibacterial properties and are used in many forms of
traditional Chinese medicine. However, it’s
best to avoid inhaling any kind of smoke when you’re
down with a cold or flu. Smoke acts as a respiratory irritant and can further
restrict airways

Put on Your Socks

Put on Your Socks

This sartorial remedy recommends that cold sufferers soak their
feet in hot water and then put on a pair of thin socks that have been soaked in
cold water and wrung out. Next, place a dry pair of socks over that and take to
your bed.

The theory behind this odd therapy is that the cold water on
your feet will increase circulation, boost your immune response, and hasten the
cold’s demise. However, it may be that the misery of cold, wet, feet in bed
simply makes you forget how awful your cold is making you feel.

Pick Up Your Dirty Socks

Pick Up Your Dirty Socks

Another sock remedy calls for greasing
your throat with chicken fat or lard and then placing dirty socks around it.
The logic behind this one is hard to pin down, but the idea may have originated
in England.

The socks labeled people with potentially fatal throat ailments in the
days before powerful drugs and vaccines could wipe out strep and prevent
diphtheria. The sight of someone swathed in dirty socks possibly warned others
to steer clear. Or it may have induced sweating, which was believed to help rid
the body of germs.

Lizard Soup

Lizard Soup

Follow the Hong Kong custom of
downing lizard soup if you fancy a variation of chicken soup for your cold. The
simple-to-make recipe calls for dried lizards, yams, and Chinese dates simmered
in water.

You won’t find dried lizards in the
supermarket, but a health practitioner specializing in Chinese herbal medicine
may have a supply handy.

No
studies compare the benefits of chicken soup with lizard soup, but hot soup in
a water-based broth helps replace fluids lost from sweating, blowing your nose,
and coughing. It can also help loosen mucus.

Can Hot Cocoa Help a Hacking Cough?

Can Hot Cocoa Help a Hacking Cough?

British researchers
measured the effect of theobromine, an ingredient in cocoa, on coughs. Compared
with codeine, theobromine was more effective in suppressing an induced cough.
The researchers theorized that theobromine acts on the vagus nerve, which spurs
coughing.

The study is too small to confirm chocolate as a cough remedy.
However, a cup of cocoa made with low-fat milk and dark chocolate (at least 70
percent cacao) offers chocolate’s antioxidant benefit, and the
hot milk can have a sleep-inducing effect.

Pickled Plum

Pickled Plum

The Japanese rely on sour
pickled plum, or umeboshi, to prevent and heal colds and flus as well as other
illnesses. Umeboshi actually isn’t a plum at all, but a variety of apricot.
It can be eaten plain if you like the pungency or steeped in hot tea with
ginger and lemon.

The
medicinal quality of umeboshi stems from its reported antibacterial effects.
However, no scientific studies back this up. Umeboshi may have a placebo effect
as a traditional comfort food for the Japanese.

Turnip a Cure

Turnip a Cure

Turnips have a lot going for
them: they pack a wallop of vitamin C and are full of vitamins A and B. In
Iranian culture, people with colds often eat a plate of cooked, mashed turnips.
The root vegetable delivers plenty of vitamin C and is believed to act as an
expectorant, helping to loosen mucus and quiet a stubborn cough. However, no
scientific evidence documents this effect.

Tallow Poultice

Tallow Poultice

A mix of European and African
traditions led to this Texan preparation for chest congestion. Sheep or cattle
tallow (fat) was cheap and readily available before the age of urgent care
clinics. It was often used for skin ailments, as well as to keep a deep cough
from turning into pneumonia.

This remedy calls for a small amount of tallow to be wrapped in
flannel cloth, warmed, and placed on the chest. The TLC of Mama or Grandma placing the warm cloth on your chest may be
comforting, but there are no medicinal effects.

Learn More

Learn More

While there’s no cure-all
for the common cold or flu, there’s no shortage of imaginative remedies
across the world and the ages.

There's always more research being done on how to best fight off — or
better yet prevent — colds and flus. For example, did you know that regular exercise
reduces a person's risk for cold and flu? Vitamins and supplements may help too.

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